Is Jamie Vardy heading to Atletico? Here’s why it makes sense

Premier League ace on the move?

One of the strangest transfer rumours of the summer so far has seen Jamie Vardy linked with a move to Atletico Madrid.

The Leicester City forward is reportedly on the La Liga club’s radar should Antoine Griezmann depart the Metropolitano for Barcelona, as expected.

On the face of it, the deal seems a bit of a strange one for Los Rojiblancos. However, when you boil it down, the move makes a great deal of sense…

Mentality

Atletico and Vardy share a lot of the same qualities. For a start, both club and player have the same never-say-die mentality. That may seem like a basic thing to say – but in a Diego Simeone team, it’s a highly-sought after commodity.

The La Liga side trade as much on their competitiveness and ruthlessness as their overall quality. Vardy has got where he is today by putting in the hard yards and demonstrating those exact abilities which make Simeone’s teams so feared across the rest of Europe.

Captain Diego Godin said a year ago that the Foxes ace could fit into the vast majority of teams in the world. We could be about to see that theory put into practice.

Costa and Vardy

Can you think of a more tenacious forward combination than Vardy and Diego Costa? The pair have the qualities to compliment each other perfectly up-top and cause havoc in La Liga and beyond. Brute force alongside raw pace equals a winning combo.

The 31-year-old may lack the technical skill that comes with a player like Griezmann. But his pace on the break would more than make up for that in a side which transitions from defence to attack in such swashbuckling style.

Vardy showed in the closing stages of Leicester’s 2015-16 Premier League winning campaign that he has what it takes to play in a more defensive minded team. He also offers a very real threat from the bench if Plan-A isn’t working.

European quality

One additional unique selling point that Vardy has is his ability to perform on the big stage. The ex-Fleetwood Town man bagged twice against Spanish sides in the knockout stages of last season’s Champions League.

Not only does that prove that he has the measure of sides in La Liga. But it also proves that he’s not fazed by the big occasion. It would’ve been easy for a player like Vardy to stall under the UCL lights in a situation not familiar to the 5ft 10in ace.

Yet he rose to the task, which could be equally important when adapting to an entirely new culture and environment if a move to Atletico does come off.

His record of seven goals in 21 caps for England – including strikes against Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Italy – further highlights his quality.

Rising to the challenge is nothing new for Vardy. And you can be sure he’ll be raring to go if Atletico can prise the star forward from the King Power Stadium.